Chapter 22 Section 4 The new law ended in failure

Wang Anshi's new law violated the vital interests of bureaucratic landlords and wealthy businessmen, and aroused their dissatisfaction and opposition.In the imperial court, the struggle between the reform faction headed by Wang Anshi and the conservative faction headed by Sima Guang was always fierce (Figure 3).Not long after Wang Anshi came to power, Lu Hui, a conservative imperial censor, went to Shenzong to impeach Wang Anshi's "ten crimes", saying that he was "as loyal as a treacherous man, as trustworthy as a fraudulent fraud", "deceived the superiors and deceived the inferiors, disguised the wrongs in classical Chinese, and misled the people of the world. "("Song History · Lu Hui Biography"), and personally attacked him.In the face of swear words, Wang Anshi remained calm. He said: "Now we have to do something, how can we avoid confusion!"

In the early years of Xining, some people in the court attacked Wang Anshi, saying that he insisted on the deviant thought of "the change of the sky is not to be feared, the ancestors are not to be lawful, and human words are not to be sympathetic" (see "Song History Biography of Wang Anshi").It means that Wang Anshi believes that natural disasters are not terrible, and people can overcome them; the times are different, and the ancestors have established the rules, which are not enough to follow, and should be changed according to the situation;Wang Anshi did not deny his political views.Once, when talking with Shenzong, he unabashedly expressed his views on the "three deficiencies".Because this is his sharp ideological weapon to promote political reform.And the conservatives' slander of Wang Anshi's reforms is precisely on this point.

In the first month of the fifth year of Xining (AD 1072), Lingtai Lang Youying said that the weather had been cloudy for a long time and the astrology was out of order. Wang Anshi should be dismissed, tattooed on his face, and sent to Yingzhou (now Yingde East, Guangdong).The privy envoy Wen Yanbo also took the opportunity to add fuel to the flames, saying that the implementation of the Market Change Law competed with the lower classes for profit, and the people's voices were raging, causing Huashan to collapse.Wang Anshi refuted tit-for-tat: "The disaster that happened in Huashan, if it is God's will, I am afraid it was caused by a villain. The establishment of the Shiyi Division is because the people have been poor for a long time. It is just to suppress mergers. What good is it for officials?" Wen Yan Bo and others were speechless.

Once the wave is not flat, another wave rises again.In the spring of the seventh year of Xining (AD 1074), there was a severe drought and the hungry people were displaced.Since Shenzong's close officials and even the queen said that the disaster was related to Wang Anshi's reform, they forced Shenzong to suspend the new law.Zheng Xia drew the picture of the "refugees" who saw the "refugees" helping the old and the young in poverty, and presented it to the imperial court, and he said in a letter: "The drought was caused by Wang Anshi. If Wang Anshi was removed, it would inevitably rain. The empress dowagers Cisheng and Xuanren cried bitterly and said to Shenzong: "Wang Anshi's reform has disrupted the world!"Wang Anshi already felt that the conservative forces were arrogant, Shenzong was in a dilemma, and could not continue to implement the new law.In April, he had to resign.Shenzong had no choice but to dismiss Wang Anshi's prime minister, and made him a scholar of Guanwendian and the prefect of Jiangning.Wang Anshi said with emotion: "Things in the world are like cooking soup. Add a fire and a spoonful of water. When will it be cooked!" This was Wang Anshi's first resignation.

In the first month of the eighth year of Xining (AD 1075), Shenzong exiled Zheng Xia, who had framed Wang Anshi, to Lingnan, and dismissed Feng Jing as an official.At this time, Lu Huiqing, a court official in power, was in disagreement with Prime Minister Han Jiang, and internal contradictions arose among the reformists.In February, Shenzong ordered Wang Anshi to return to Beijing, and the official was reinstated.At this time, conservative forces colluded with each other, and activities against the reform continued frequently, and the reform faction also split, and Shenzong's spiritual outlook was no longer as exciting as in the early years of Xining.Wang Anshi knew that the danger would be even greater if he continued to reform the law. In addition, he had worked in the imperial court for eight years, handling state affairs, and was sick from overwork. At the age of 56, Wang Anshi felt physically tired and unable to do what he wanted.From the spring of the following year, Wang Anshi submitted four or five consecutive petitions requesting his resignation as prime minister.In October of the same year, Shenzong once again approved his resignation from the position of prime minister, so as to lead the envoy (official rank, not a real position) to concurrently run Jiangning mansion.Wang Anshi returned to Jiangning for the second time.In September of the second year of Yuanfeng (AD 1079), the imperial court named him Jing Guogong, known as "Wang Jinggong" in the world.

Wang Anshi, who retreated to the forest, reads books, recites poems and composes Fu in his "Banshan Garden".He often rode a donkey to roam around Jiangning, paying homage to historical sites and wandering in the mountains and rivers, so as to spend his old age peacefully.In July of the seventh year of Yuanfeng (1084 A.D.), when Su Shi, an opponent of the new law, was passing through Jiangning, he specially visited him in the palace.As soon as the two former political enemies met, they put aside their previous suspicions, disregarded personal grievances, and talked with each other from the bottom of their hearts, and they had similar views on the evils of the world.The two went on outings hand in hand, talked about ancient and ancient characters, sang harmony with poetry, and lingered forever.Wang Anshi is 16 years older than Su Shi. He especially likes Su Shi's poems and prose. I have been with Wang Anshi for more than a month, "I have never heard of it day and night, and I am extremely happy", and I know Wang Anshi better, and sighed: "It has been ten years since I became a public (Anshi)." ("Pan Zizhen Poems") Wang Anshi and Su Shi as " Two of the "Eight Great Men of Tang and Song Dynasties", from rivals in the political arena to shaking hands and talking happily, became bosom friends. This incident has left a commendable story in the history of Chinese literature.

In March of the eighth year of Yuanfeng (AD 1085), Shenzong died of illness in the Palace of Funing, and the 10-year-old crown prince Zhao Xu [xu continued] proclaimed himself emperor, that is, Song Zhezong.When Zhezong was young, he honored Empress Yingzong Gao as the Empress Dowager, who was in charge of the military and state affairs.Empress Gao immediately enabled Sima Guang to enter the court.Conservatives such as Empress Gao and Sima Guang have long hated the new law.Starting from the first year of Yuanyou (AD 1086), they abolished the new laws that had been implemented for 16 years one by one, which was called "Yuanyou Changchang" in history.The news that the conservatives had abolished the new law reached Jiangning, and Wang Anshi was very angry when he heard the news.When he heard that the Recruitment Law was abolished, he could no longer remain silent, and said sadly: "Do you want to abolish this law too? I discussed this law with the late emperor (Shenzong) for two years, and it was conceived It's perfect!" And yet, who will heed his last cry?In April of the same year, Wang Anshi, a great statesman and writer of his generation, passed away in grief and anger, completing his 66 years of tortuous and extraordinary life journey.